Life Goes On
by Mistyrivers
Summary: Ellie's dealing with life now that Sean has left.
1. Default Chapter

Life Goes On

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Degrassi.

Author's note: This story will basically be about Ellie. Sean will come back in later chapters, but the story will focus on how Ellie's doing since he left. Hope you like it.

Ellie and Paige looked at each other as their new chemistry teacher called them to the front of the class. Mr. Miller smiled at each of them and they smiled back uneasily. "Okay, girls. I've decided to switch some of the lab partners around and I want to pair you two up."

"What?" Ellie asked.

"I like having Hazel as my partner." Paige looked annoyed

"Yes, I realize this," Mr. Miller said, looking back and forth between them. "But your grade is not as strong as it could be. And, I think working with Ellie would be good for your grade."

"What about my grade? I don't want to work with her."

"Thanks a lot."

"You know-"

"That's enough. You two are partners now. That's all there is to it. You can go sit down now. Your lab table is the one in the back on the left side. I suggest you two go over you notes and discuss how you want to work together."

They rolled their eyes, gathered their books and slumped into their new seats. "This is just great," Ellie mumbled.

"It's not my fault."

"Well, if you and Hazel had done your work instead of messing around, maybe we would have our old partners."

"Shut up, Ellie."

Ellie sighed and opened her notebook. "Whatever. Look, I'm not going to let you screw up my chemistry grade, okay? I've worked way too hard to let you ruin things for me."

"Hey, I'm not great in science, but I'm not a total idiot. I can do the work."

"Okay, fine. Are you doing anything tonight?"

"No. Why?

"Because I want to get together and go over our notes. I don't want to be carrying you in this class."

"Come on, can't we just do that in class?"

"Paige-"

Paige exhaled loudly. "Fine, fine. I'll come over tonight. Happy?"

"Yeah, I'm thrilled. Can't you tell?"

-----------------------

Ellie answered the door as soon as she heard the knock. She found an unsmiling Paige. "Well, you look overjoyed to be here."

"I have plenty of things I'd rather be doing than studying."

"That's probably why you'll end flipping burgers one day."

Paige rolled her eyes and walked in. "Nice place."

"It gets the job done."

"Okay. Let's just get this over with, shall we?" Paige sat down on the couch and pulled out her chemistry notebook.

"Let me see your notes." Ellie sat down next to her and looked at the notes. "Oh, my God."

"What? What's wrong?"

"How is it possible to have notes like this? Did you and Hazel not pay attention to anything at all?"

"Hey, it's not that bad."

"Give me a break. There's barely anything here."

"I pass most of my tests. I obviously know a little bit of this stuff."

"I guess that's true."

"Yeah, I'm smart." Paige smiled

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get to work. I want to show you my notes so you understand exactly what you're supposed to have." Ellie pulled out her own notebook and showed them to Paige.

"Wow!"

"See? That's what a notebook should look like."

-------------

After a few hours, Ellie was satisfied with the progress that Paige had made. "So, you understand that?" Ellie gestured to something in her notebook.

Paige nodded, scribbling something down. "Yeah, I do. I guess maybe you were right. Me and Hazel did kind of goof off a little. I didn't know everything that I probably should have."

"Hey, you know more than I expected you to. I thought I'd be doing all our experiments myself."

"Just because I'm on Spirit Squad doesn't mean I'm stupid, hon."

"I know. I just always thought you were a bubble head."

"Cute." Paige shook her head and glimpsed around the room. "So, you live here all by yourself?"

"Yup."

"I can't believe your Mom let you do this."

"She didn't really have much of a choice. She's not here. And she thought Sean would be here. Of course, he's gone now."

"Yeah. Do you hear from him at all?"

Ellie shook her head. "I did a couple times, at first. But it's been a while since he's called."

"Too bad. You know, you've got this place to yourself? You probably get lonely. This would be an excellent place for a party."

"No way."

"Come on, Ellie. Have a little fun"

"No. After all the parties that Sean's friends' had here over the summer, there is no way in hell I'm doing that again. Sean and I ended up cleaning everything ourselves."

"You're no fun."

"Don't get started on me. This is my home, not the place for wandering parties. Besides, I've got Marco on my back constantly about having a party. He's so persistent."

"And annoying."

"Yeah, but I wasn't going to say it."

Paige laughed. "I'd better get going. Thanks for all the help." They both stood up and walked toward the door.

"No problem. Uh, you work at the movie theater, don't you?

"Yeah, I do. Why?

"Well, I need some cash, and I was wondering if there were any openings."

"I think there is. Someone just quit. You want me to put in a good word for you?"

"That'd be great. I was going to ask Alex, but ever since that stuff went down with Jay, she's been kind of …"

"Impossible?"

"That's a nice why to put it."

"Yeah, I know. I'll totally say something to the manager for you. I'm working tomorrow all day. Why don't you come by?"

"Really? Thanks, that's great."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye." Ellie shut the door after Paige left.

----------------

The next morning, Ellie was yanking on her shoes when the phone rang. "Just perfect," she muttered as she nearly tripped over her feet trying to get the phone. "Hello?" No one said anything. "Come on, this isn't funny. Whatever." She hung up the phone and rolled her eyes. That was the fourth call she'd gotten in the last two weeks. Whoever it was never said anything.

The phone rang again and she picked it up. "You know, this is getting ridiculous."

"Ellie? What's wrong?" A confused Ashley asked.

"Oh, sorry, Ash. Right before you called I got another one of those weird phone calls."

"Ellie, that's freaky. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. It was just a phone call."

"But you're there all by yourself."

"I'm really fine. Listen, I can't talk. I've got a lead on a job."

"Oh, great. I just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out tonight."

"Oh, Craig's busy?"

"Funny. I don't call you when Craig's busy."

"Right."

"Okay, fine. Craig's gotta watch Angie tonight. But I still want to hang tonight."

"I was just teasing. I'll see you tonight."

"Bye, Ellie."

"Bye, Ash."

-----------------

Ellie smiled uneasily as the manager of the movie theater looked over her application. "So, no other work experience?"

"No, this would be my first job, but I'm sure I could do well."

The manager nodded. "Yes, I know how hard it is to find a job before you have any other experience."

"Right."

"Well, I talked to Alex and Paige and they both seem to think you'd be a good worker. And anyone who can get along with both of them obviously has some people skills. So, I'll give you a shot."

"Really?" Ellie asked, hardly believing her luck.

"Yes, can you start tomorrow?"

"I can start today if you need me."

"Tomorrow will be fine." They both stood up and the manager handed Ellie a uniform. "Be here tomorrow at 9 in the morning. You'll spend an hour with me getting trained and then spend your shift with Alex and Paige."

"Okay, sure. Thank you very much."

"Your welcome. I'll see you tomorrow, Ellie."

Ellie walked out of the office, amazed at what just happened. She noticed Paige looking at her and she grinned. Paige grinned back and Ellie pumped her fists. Finally, maybe her life was going to be all right.

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	2. Two

Thanks to everyone who's read this story so far. These first few chapters are setting things up.

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Ellie and Ashley were lying on her couch watching a movie, bored out of their minds. "Ashley, this movie sucks. Why'd you bring it?" Ellie asked, flipping the television off.

Ashley sighed. "I was in a hurry. I just grabbed a movie off of the table. It must be one of Toby's."

"He actually watches this?"

"I guess. We should probably just be glad it isn't some weird porno movie."

"Ashley!"

"Hey, I have no idea what movies he watches when he's locked in his room."

"Thanks a lot. An image I totally didn't need."

"Sorry."

"Yeah, sure. I'll be right back. I'm going to throw these away." Ellie said, gesturing to a couple of soda cans.

"Okay." The phone rang and Ashley answered it. "Hello?" There was silence on the line and then a click.

Ellie came back into the room. "Who was it?"

"No one. They didn't say anything."

"Oh, again?"

"Don't say it like that. This is a big deal."

"Don't start with that."

"This is serious."

"No, I'm stressed out enough as it is. I start my job tomorrow."

"Oh, you got it?"

"Yeah. And, in addition to the desperately needing money thing, I've got to worry about working with Alex and Paige."

"Alex and Paige at the same time?"

"Right. You see why I'm so freaked out."

"I do. But you'll be fine."

"I hope so. I don't exactly have a lot of money, you know."

"I know."

"So, are you going to stay over tonight?"

"Yeah, if it's still cool."

"It is, but I've got go in to work at 9. So, you'd be here by yourself after I leave."

"That's cool. Party!"

"Sure. Like anyone we know will be awake at 9 in the morning."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Let's go to sleep. I've got to get up early."

-----------------

Ellie stood in front of Ashley, feeling ridiculous in her work uniform. "So? How do I look?"

Ashley bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "You look good."

"You could at least say it with a straight face."

"I'm sorry, but you really don't look that bad."

"I hope not," Ellie said, shuffling her feet nervously. "I need this job."

"You're going to do great, El."

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm sure of it." Ashley hugged her quickly. "Now, get going. You don't want to be late on your first day. I'll lock up after you leave."

"Thanks, Ashley."

"No problem."

--------------------------

Ellie smiled as she handed the last person in line their popcorn. "Whoa!" She said as he walked away. She leaned against the counter, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Paige handed her a soda. "Tougher than you thought, huh?"

"Definitely."

"My first day, I thought I was going to drop."

"I figured any job that you did would be a snap for me."

"That's hilarious."

"What can I say?" Ellie smiled sloppily and sucked down the rest of her soda.

"Hey! Do you two want to knock off the play time? We're still at work, you know." Alex shouted from across the room.

Paige rolled her eyes. "We're just taking a break. There's no one around, Alex."

"Whatever. Just don't get too comfortable."

"Yes, ma'am!" Ellie saluted Alex and Paige laughed.

"Ellie, I didn't realize you were all chummy with the bubbly Princess."

"Oh, we're not friends. We've just joined up against the common enemy." Paige smiled a phony smile at Alex.

Alex glanced down at her watch. "Well, my shift is over. You two goof offs can have fun all by yourselves."

"Bye, Alex." Paige stuck her tongue out at her back as she walked away.

"I'll see you in school tomorrow." Ellie tried to smile at Alex, but she just scowled in return.

"God, how are you friends with her?"

"Oh, she's not so bad. She's just pissed about Jay. You would be, too."

"I guess you're right."

"I am." Ellie sighed. "So, do you want to study again tonight?"

Paige shook her head. "Not really, but I guess we should."

"Yeah, if you want to pass chemistry."

"I'll pass." All of a sudden a large group of people walked toward the counter. "And here we go again." Paige and Ellie both stood at the counter, waiting to be swamped with customers.

----------------------

Marco walked up to Ellie the next morning at school. "Hey, how was your weekend, Miss Ellie?"

"Oh, just great. I studied with Paige and got a job. Whoopee."

"You got a job? That's great."

"I guess. At least, I don't have to beg Mom for money anymore."

The two of them started walking to their homeroom. "So, you studied with Paige. Why? You guys aren't exactly best friends."

"You didn't hear the news? Paige and I are lab partners now."

Marco laughed. "Oh, that'll be fun to watch."

"You aren't funny."

"So, how was it?"

"She's pulling her weight so far, but I bet it doesn't last."

"Paige isn't so bad."

"I didn't say she was bad. I just don't think that her chemistry grade is more important than the Spirit Squad, or whatever she does."

"Okay, sure. Let's go. We don't want to be late."

----------------

Ellie sat down next to Ashley at lunch. "Where's Craig?"

"Getting his lunch."

"Oh, am I allowed to eat with the love birds?"

"Shut up, Ellie. Anyway, we've got more important things to talk about. How was your first day of work?"

"Long."

"Ellie!"

"It was all right. It was work. I served food and drinks to a bunch of spoiled children and obnoxious teenagers. It could have been worse, but it wasn't horrible."

"You know, I think you're getting a little too upbeat for me."

"Don't start with me. I'm under all kinds of stress here, Ash."

"You've got a job. You can pay the rent now."

"Yeah, but I'm still living by myself. It's constantly insane."

"I'm sorry. I guess it would be hard living alone."

"It's not all parties, all the time."

"I would think not."

"You know, Paige tried to talk me into having a party."

"What'd you tell her?"

"What do you think? Give me a break." Ellie opened her math book. "Hey, did you finish last week's homework? I had tons of trouble with it."

"Yeah, I know. Let's compare answers."

---------------

Paige and Ellie sat at their lab table, mixing chemicals. "I hope I don't spill anything on my shirt. It's brand new."

"Oh, I hope you're kidding me," Ellie said, glancing incredulously at Paige.

"What? I love this shirt!"

"You've got a smock on. You'll be fine. Your chem grade, however-"

"Shut up. My chem grade is okay." Paige looked at the chemicals with surprise in her eyes. "Hey, they did what they're supposed to do."

"Yeah, we followed the directions. That's what usually happens."

"It usually takes me and Hazel a couple of times to get the experiments to work."

"You know why? Because you're not goofing off with me."

"Hazel and I didn't talk that much."

"I'm sure."

"Didn't your experiment blow up last week?"

Paige rolled her eyes. "It didn't blow up. It just-"

"Just spilled all over you?"

"I hate you."

"Once your grade increases, you're gonna love me."

"Ha Ha."

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	3. Three

Thanks to all who've read the story. This chapter's a little longer than the others.

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Friday in class, Ellie and Paige sat next to each other, scribbling notes off of the blackboard. "This makes absolutely no sense to me, Ellie," Paige whispered.

"I'll explain it later; I'm kind of confused myself."

"Wow, genius Nash doesn't understand something? What a surprise."

"I'll understand it before the test."

"Test? What test?"

Ellie looked at her strangely. "Even you can't possibly be that airhead like? He announced this test on Monday."

"No, he didn't."

"Yeah, he did."

"Paige, Ellie. I realize that whatever you're discussing is far more interesting than chemistry, but you need to pay attention to me," Mr. Miller said.

Both girls blushed furiously as the rest of the class laughed. "Ok, ok. Settle down. Now, I know you've got a test on Monday and we're going to spend the rest of the period going over any questions you might have."

Paige whispered to Ellie again. "What the hell am I going to do?"

"Calm down. You've got three days to study."

"I've been goofing off all year. You said it yourself. I'm not ready for a test!"

"Do you have to work tonight?"

"No."

"Neither do I. You can come over and we'll study. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Thanks."

"Whatever." Ellie rolled her eyes.

"You know, hon, when someone thanks you, the correct response is actually your welcome."

"You're welcome," Ellie replied in a mocking tone.

-------------------------

Ellie looked over at Paige. "You understand?"

Paige nodded slowly. "I think so. Yeah, I do."

Ellie slammed her book shut. "Terrific. I guess we're done for tonight."

"No, no, we're not."

"Paige, I'm not studying all night long."

"Ellie, I have to pass this test."

"What's the big deal? You didn't seem to care before about your grade."

"Look, I just have to pass, okay?"

"Why?"

Paige sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "My parents found out my grades aren't that good."

"And?"

"And, if I don't bring them up, I have to quit Spirit Squad."

"Oh, that's just heartbreaking."

"Shut up. I know what you think of Spirit Squad, but it's important to me."

"I'm sorry. I guess I know what you mean. It would suck if I lost my co-op."

"So, you'll help me?"

"Yeah, I guess. But I'm burnt out tonight."

"Ellie-"

"How about tomorrow afternoon?"

"I have to work."

Ellie leaned back, stretching her neck muscles. "I have to work tomorrow night until 11."

"Well-"

"Go ahead and say it."

"We could study after you get off."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Come on, Ellie. It's not that big of a deal. Please? I'll do whatever you want me to."

"God, I'm too nice."

"You'll seriously do it."

"Yeah, fine. But I don't want you to complain about how hard it is to study."

"Whatever you want. I-" Paige was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing.

"Hold on a second," Ellie said as she picked it up. "Hello? Hello? God, that's annoying." She hung up the phone, shaking her head.

"Wrong number?"

"I have no idea. Whoever it was didn't say anything. It's happened a lot lately."

"That's weird."

"Yeah, I know. Ashley's all freaked out about it. But it's just phone calls."

"I guess," Paige said, looking worried.

"Plus, I've got plenty of other things to freak about. I'm not going to worry about some stupid phone calls."

"If you're sure."

"I am."

"So, tomorrow night?" Paige asked, standing up.

"Yup, after work."

"Uh, what are you going to do the rest of the night?"

"I don't know. Watch TV. Probably study later."

"That's stupid. You should do something fun."

"With who? Ashley's off with Craig and Marco's busy. Dylan's home for the weekend. You know that. And Alex is still way too pissed off about everything to hang out with."

"Oh." Paige wrinkled her nose, feeling uncomfortable. "Hazel and I are hanging out at Jimmy's tonight. You want to come?"

Ellie laughed. "No, no, no. I appreciate the offer, but that's not a good idea. Just because we get along in chemistry class, doesn't mean we should start hanging out of class. Let's not push it."

"I guess you're right. I was just trying to be nice."

"I know. It's cool."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ellie."

"Bye, Paige."

--------------------

The next afternoon, Ellie shoved her wallet into her pocket and opened the door. Paige stood in front of her ready to knock. "Paige? What are you doing here?"

"I just got off work and thought I'd come over here to study."

"You know I have to work."

"Yeah, I know. So, I could stay here and study by myself and then, when you get here, we can go over what I didn't understand."

"Come on."

"Think about it. It'd save you time. Instead of going over everything, we'd be going over just a few things."

"I don't know."

"Please, Ellie. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Fine. But don't mess up my place or anything."

Paige sneaked a peek at the house. "Um, hon. I don't think I could mess it up that much."

"Real cute. You know what I mean."

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine."

"Okay, okay. I'll see you tonight."

"Have fun at work." Paige waved at her as Ellie sneered back.

--------------------

Paige tapped her pencil on her chemistry book. She was having trouble concentrating. She just didn't feel like studying. She wanted to do something, go out. But she couldn't. She'd made such a big deal about studying that she couldn't just leave. Ellie would get pissed and probably wouldn't help her with test. Her phone rang and she picked it up. "Hello? Oh, hey Hazel. You won't believe it. I'm over at Ellie's. Yeah, Ellie Nash. I'm waiting for her to get here when she gets off work. We're going to study for the chem test. But I'm freaking bored out of my mind. What? No way. Ellie would be so pissed."

Paige sighed, twisting a piece of hair around her finger and thinking. Maybe it wouldn't be that big a deal. "Okay, Hazel. But just you and Jimmy. No one else. This can't turn into some big party. You know where she lives? Yeah. Bye." Paige closed her book with a loud thump. "This'll be fun. And Hazel and Jimmy will be gone before Ellie gets back. Right."

--------------------

Thirty minutes later, Ellie's house was filled with people and Paige was in a panic. She grabbed Hazel, pulled her away from Jimmy and started grilling her. "What the hell is this, Hazel? I said you and Jimmy."

"Yeah, I know. Jimmy told a few people and I guess they told a few people and …" Hazel trailed off.

"I'm going to kill you. Assuming that Ellie doesn't kill me first."

"Calm down, Paige. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Ellie's told me she doesn't like parties. This is her place. We can't just have a party."

"She'll never know. We'll get everyone out before she gets back."

"She gets off work at 11. Why kind of party ends at 11?"

"Stop freaking out. Everything will work itself out."

"What the hell are you talking about? Ellie is going to freak! You have to get these people out of here."

Hazel rolled her eyes. "How am I supposed to do that?"

Paige stomped her foot, frustrated. "I don't know."

"Look, there's nothing we can do about this now, okay? The people are already here. Let's just enjoy ourselves."

Paige sighed. "Ellie's going to kill me."

"Come on, Paige."

"Fine."

Hazel smiled. "All right!"

--------------------

Ellie watched as Alex talked to a couple of her friends. She was actually smiling. Maybe her mood was improving. She saw Alex walking toward her. "Hey. What's up?"

Alex grinned spitefully. "I didn't know you were having a party tonight."

"What are you talking about?"

"My friends were talking about us going to a party after work. A party at your house."

"What?"

"Yeah, apparently it's going full blast right now."

Ellie turned bright red. "I'm going to kill Paige."

"Paige? Why is Paige having a party at your house?"

"Because I'm _stupid _and told her she could wait for me to get off work and we'd study together."

Alex laughed. "Paige study on a weekend? That's a good one."

"I don't believe this. Damn it!"

"You want to go and see what's up? I'll cover for you."

"No, I can't. I need the money. Plus, there's a bunch of people here. You can't handle them by yourself. I'll deal with it after work."

"You want me to go with you? There are plenty of people who think I'm scary. They'll scatter like rats."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll handle it myself. But if you know of a place to dump a body, I may need it."

"I guess Paige is in trouble."

"Oh, yeah."

----------------

Ashley sighed as Craig finished playing the song he wrote for her. "I love it."

"Yeah?" He asked shyly.

"Definitely." She kissed him on the lips.

"So, do you want to go to that party over at Ellie's?" Craig asked in between kisses.

"What party?"

"Jimmy called. He said he and Hazel were going to some major party at Ellie's."

"Ellie's not having a party. She would have invited me. Plus, she has to work late tonight. I bet she's not even home yet."

Craig looked confused. "Well, then what's going on?"

"Paige. Paige and Ellie were supposed to study after she got off work. I bet she did this."

"Uh oh."

"Yeah. We better get over there. Ellie's going to flip out." Ashley jumped up and yanked on her jacket.

"I don't think I want to see that," Craig said as he shrugged on his own jacket.

"No kidding."

------------------

Ellie's jaw dropped as she walked into her house. There were people everywhere. It was worse than any party Sean had had with Jay and those other losers. She rubbed her forehead, unsure of how to get everyone out. "Ellie! Ellie!" She turned to see Ashley and Craig coming over to her.

"Did you know about this?" Ellie asked Ashley.

Ashley shook her head. "No, Craig told me Jimmy called him and we decided to come over and help if we could."

"I have no idea what do to get these people out."

Craig grinned. "Let me handle that."

"Give me a minute. I want to find Paige before she can scurry out of here."

"Yeah, sure." Craig and Ashley watched as Ellie went searching through the party. She found Paige dancing with some guy. She grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

"Are you kidding me, Paige?!"

Seeing that Ellie had found Paige, Craig jumped on a table and shouted. "Hey! Get out! Cops are coming!" The house cleared out fast as bunches of teenagers hurried away.

"What the hell happened?"

"Ellie, I'm sorry. I was bored and Hazel called. It was only supposed to be her and Jimmy, but all these people showed up. I didn't know how to make them leave and . . . I'm so sorry, Ellie."

"Whatever. You know how I thought about parties. And now, my house is destroyed. What is wrong with you? God!"

"Ellie?" Ashley interrupted them. "Everyone's gone. Do you want me and Craig to help you clean up?"

Ellie sighed and shook her head. "No. There's too much to do and I just don't feel like it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, thanks for the offer. But I'm wiped out. You can go."

"Okay, bye."

"I'll see you, Ellie." Craig and Ashley walked out and Ellie turned back to Paige.

"You can go, too."

"Ellie-"

"No, I don't want to hear it. I trusted you. I don't know why. I'm not completely stupid. But still, you screwed me over. Just go."

"Please-"

"Go."

"Okay. I really am sorry." Paige walked out and Ellie surveyed the damage.

"Crap." Ellie flopped on the couch. "I knew my life was going too well."

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	4. Four

Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing.

---------------

The next morning, Ellie examined the destruction the party had caused. It wasn't as bad as she'd thought. Nothing seemed to be broken, it was mostly just trashed. It would take forever to clean it, but eventually she'd be able to fix it. The phone rang and she picked it up, hoping it'd be Ashley or Marco and not a dial tone. She was in no mood for that at the moment. "Hello?"

"Ellie? It's Paige." She spoke, hesitantly.

Ellie wanted to slam the phone done, but managed to control herself. "Not now. I don't want to talk to you."

"Ellie, please. I want to apologize."

"You did. Last night. But I don't care and I don't forgive you. Good-bye." Ellie put the phone down. "Just great. This is perfect. A messy house and I have to be at work in four hours. I'm screwed." Ellie exhaled loudly, picked up a few soda cans and tossed them back on the ground. Forget it, she was going back to bed.

----------------

Paige walked up to Ellie at work. "You have to talk to me now."

"I have to talk to you about work stuff. I don't have to discuss anything else. Now, you'd better hurry up. It's almost time for that god awful cartoon movies to start and we're going to be invaded with little kids dying for candy," Ellie said, not looking at Paige.

"Please?"

Ellie finally looked up at her. She nearly gave in, seeing how bad Paige appeared to be feeling, but she thought back to her messy house. "Look. Just drop it. I don't want to get into this in a public place."

"Okay. Whatever you want." Paige walked behind the counter and began to get ready.

Ellie sighed inwardly, watching her. It would be much easier if Paige was being a total bitch, acting like she'd done nothing wrong. Then, maybe she could stay pissed. At the moment, Paige looked so contrite that she felt like the most awful person in the world, for staying pissed at her.

--------------------

That night, Ashley came over to help her clean up her house. "You don't have to do this, you know."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Please, Ellie. You're my best friend. It's not a big deal. Of course, I'm helping you."

"Well, thanks anyway."

"No problem." The two girls grabbed a few bags of trash and took them outside to the dumpster. As they were walking back, Ashley turned to Ellie. "I don't want to ask you this . . ." She trailed off.

"But you're going to anyway. Go ahead."

"Have you talked to Paige at all?"

"Yeah, she called. And then, at work today. But I don't want to talk to her."

"I know you're mad. And you have every right to be. But Paige is really sorry."

"I don't want to be nice about this."

"Ellie-"

"No, it's always doormat Ellie. She'll forgive anything. Sean takes off, doesn't write. That's okay. Paige has a party and destroys the house. No big deal."

"El-"

"No! I'm not doing it this time."

"Okay. Okay, I'm sorry, Ellie."

"No, I'm sorry. None of this is your fault, but I'm taking it out on you. It's not fair."

"Hey, what's fair between friends?" Ashley smiled and Ellie gave a half smile in return.

"Yeah, well."

"We better get back in there and finish."

"No, I'm sick of this. Plus, I have to study. Chemistry test tomorrow."

"There's still a lot of stuff that needs to be thrown away."

"It'll still be here tomorrow."

"If you need anything, call. All right?"

Ellie rolled her eyes and opened her front door. "I'm fine. Now, get going. I'm sure Craig is going into convulsions without you."

"Well, you seem to be in a slightly better mood. That's good."

"Yeah, yeah."

"See ya at school?"

"Yeah, bye." Ellie went inside as Ashley left.

-------------------

The next day, Ellie sat down next to Paige in chemistry. "Look, I don't want to hear your apologies right now. We've got a test and I don't need to be stressed out."

Paige paled. "I know. I'm sorry. I can't do anything about it. I shouldn't have done what I did. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry." She opened her notebook and skimmed through some of her review notes.

Ellie sighed inwardly. Damn Paige for being so nice about this. She was making it harder and harder to stay mad.

-------------------------

Ellie was picking up trash when she heard a knock at the door. "Paige, what are you doing here?"

Paige pushed her way past Ellie into the house. "I know you're pissed at me. But this house is still a mess. And I'm going to help you clean it up."

"I didn't know cheerleaders did manual labor."

"Shut up, I'm trying to be nice." Paige picked up a couple of beer cans. "Oh, there's still beer inside. Gross!"

"Yeah, well, people who are blasted out of their minds tend to just throw their beer cans wherever without worrying if they're still full."

"Ha Ha."

Ellie and Paige worked silently for quite awhile. Ellie was amazed that Paige didn't bitch about the trash and the disgusting mess their work was. She was also a pretty good worker. Quick and efficient. Between the two of them, they actually were able to finish cleaning up in no time at all. "Wow, this didn't take as long as I thought it would." Paige gave a small smile to Ellie.

Ellie grinned back. "Yeah, you're not nearly as useless as I would have thought you were."

"Thanks, thanks a lot."

Ellie lifted up the last two bags of trash. "So, let's take these out to the garbage and I think we'll be done."

Paige grabbed one of the bags. "Let's do it."

They finished their work and stared at each other. Paige spoke first. "I guess I'd better go."

"Right. So, thanks for helping."

"No big deal. It was my fault."

"Yeah, it was." Ellie smirked.

"I'm sorry."

"You know, you can stop saying it. I know you're sorry. If you weren't, you wouldn't have spent all afternoon cleaning up."

"Yeah, well. See you tomorrow?"

Ellie nodded. "Yeah."

Paige walked away, then stopped and turned back. "Hey, um. Do you have to work tonight?"

"No. And I'm not having another party here."

Paige laughed. "That's not what I meant. I just wanted to see if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight."

"What? Come on, it's got to be lonely eating by yourself every night. And my mom's an awesome cook."

"Thanks. But that's okay. I'd feel too weird."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. But thanks."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

-----------------------

A few days later, Ellie and Paige sat at their table in chemistry, waiting impatiently for their tests to be handed back. "I can't freaking handle this," Paige muttered.

"Calm down. It's not the end of the world."

"That's easy for you to say."

You know-" Ellie shut her mouth as Mr. Miller walked over to their table.

"Nash and Michalchuk. Here you go." He placed their tests face down in front of them.

Ellie immediately turned hers over. "All right! 96. What'd you get?" She looked at Paige, who hadn't looked at hers. "What are you waiting for?"

"I don't want to know."

"Come on. You knew this stuff. Just look. And if you didn't do well, we'll just stay harder next time."

Paige took a quick glimpse at her paper, and then stared at the grade harder, but she didn't say anything.

"Paige? Are you okay?" Ellie looked worriedly at her. "Oh. You flunked. Well-" Ellie was interrupted by the bell ringing.

Both girls stood up and walked out of the classroom. Ellie was still surprised that Paige wasn't talking. "It's going to be all right. I-"

"I got a 91." Paige smiled in shock.

"91? Nice. I knew you could do it."

"Really?"

"No."

Paige laughed and elbowed her in the side. "Funny, Ellie. We should do something."

"No parties."

"I know that. Why don't we hang out, though? Like friends?"

"Are we friend?"

"Ellie!"

"Okay, okay."

"Hey, what's up, guys?" Ashley walked up to them.

Paige grinned. "We aced our chemistry test."

"Great! Congratulations. We should celebrate."

"I agree. I'm going to hang at Ellie's tonight. Wanna come?"

Ashley's eyes widened. "You guys are friends?"

"Yeah, I know it's a miracle. So, you coming or what?"

"Sure. Sounds fun."

Ellie interjected into their conversation. "I don't remember agreeing to this."

"You didn't. I just decided."

"Oh. Okay."

---------------------------

Ashley, Paige, and Ellie were sprawled out in Ellie's living room. "Guys, this really bites."

Ellie groaned. "You knew that I don't really have anything to do here. Don't bitch about it now."

"She's got a point, Paige."

"Don't you two gang up on me."

"Whatever."

Paige sighed. "Hey. Ellie, can I ask you a question? You totally don't have answer if you don't want to."

"I don't have a good feeling about this," Ashley said.

"Go ahead and ask, Paige."

"Okay. Are pissed at Sean?"

Ashley rolled her eyes. "And, I was right."

"No, no. I'll answer. I guess I am. I mean, he hasn't even called."

Ashley looked surprised. "Not once?"

"Nope. He hasn't called at all."

"What an ass."

"Paige, that's not helpful," Ashley said.

"Hey, I'm right. He hasn't called at all. Who the hell does he think he is?"

"Paige!"

Ellie shook her head. "She's right. He sent for his stuff and left me to pay the rent. He sucks."

"Yeah, I am right. You need to do something about it. Let's go." Paige jumped up.

"What are you talking about?"

"Ash, you have your mom's car. We're spending the night here. No one will know. Let's go to see Sean."

"Are you crazy? Wasaga Beach is a couple hours from here."

"Then, we'd better get going before it gets dark."

Ellie sat thinking. "Okay."

Ashley laughed nervously. "You're not serious?"

"Yeah, I am. Let's go." Ellie and Paige both looked at Ashley expectantly.

"Okay. Let's go."

---------------


	5. Five

They were almost to Wasaga Beach when Paige started complaining. "Are we there yet?"

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Paige, this was your idea. You don't get to be annoying about how long it takes us to get there."

"Well, this is taking way longer then I thought."

Ellie ignored them both, tapping her fingers on the side of the door. This was probably not a good idea. Sean hadn't called her for a reason. Why was she going to confront him? This would not end well.

Ashley glanced over at Ellie. "You okay, Ellie?"

"I don't think this is the best idea."

"Hey, Ellie. We drove ourselves all the way out here. You're not chickening out now."

"Paige! Ellie, if you're not sure-"

"No. I have to do this."

"That a girl, Ellie."

"Shut up, Paige."

"Just trying to support you," Paige muttered.

"Yeah, well. I don't need-" Ellie stopped mid-sentence and gestured toward the left side of the street. "Make a left at the next light, Ash."

"Okay." Ashley turned left and peered down the street. "So, how much farther?"

"It's not too long." Ellie pointed to a house. "Right there. But don't park right next to it."

Ashley parked the car and turned off the headlights. "Ellie, you ready?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready." Ellie was breathing heavily and cracking her knuckles, suddenly feeling very unsure about this whole thing.

Paige leaned over the seat to pat Ellie on the shoulder. "Hey. It's cool. Just go over there, knock on the door, and tell him what you think about him. I know you can do it."

"Yeah, you can. But you don't have to. If you're freaked out, we can leave. Go to a movie, get some food, whatever you want." Ashley patted her hand.

Paige nodded in agreement. "Yeah, no matter how annoying it would be to have driven all this way, you can always wuss out if you need to. We won't think you're a sissy."

"Paige!"

"It's okay, Ash. She's kind of mean, but she's right. I have to do this and I'd be a wuss to back out."

"All right." Ashley glanced unsurely at her friend.

"Okay. I'm going to do it." Ellie opened the car door, and then paused, staring at Sean, who had just appeared in front of his house.

"What are you waiting for?" Paige asked, following Ellie's gaze. "Oh. Does Sean have a sister?" She asked, noticing the brown haired girl standing very close to Sean.

"No. No sister." All three girls watched as Sean wrapped his arms around the girl. He leaned down and kissed her, shocking all the girls.

"Oh my God."

"I don't believe this."

Ashley and Paige's voices sounded far off to Ellie. Everything was in slow motion and her heart was pounding in her chest. Her worst nightmare was occurring right in front of her eyes and there was nothing she could do about it. She closed her eyes and leaned against the seat of the car. "Get me out of here."

"Ellie? Are you okay?" Paige rubbed her shoulder.

"Yeah, fine. Just get me out of here. I- I don't want him to see us. It's too much."

Ashley started up the car. "We'll leave then."

---------------------

The ride home was silent. Ellie was lost in her thoughts, Ashley figured she should let Ellie talk when she felt like it, and Paige didn't know what to say for once in her life. When they finally arrived back at Ellie's, they walked into the house, still in complete silence. Ashley was the first to speak.

"Ellie, do you want us to leave?"

"I don't really feel like being around anyone right now."

Ashley nodded. "Fine. We'll leave you-"

"I'm sorry. We can't do that."

"Paige-"

"No. I'm sorry, hon, but it's one in the morning. We can't go home now. Our parents thought we'd be hanging out here tonight."

"Paige-"

"Fine. Stay here. I don't care. I'm going to bed." Ellie walked out of the room and slammed the door to her bedroom.

"Nice work, Paige."

"Hey, I'm sorry, but you know that our parents would flip out if we came home at one in the morning. What would we say? 'Oh, we drove to Wasaga and found Ellie's boyfriend making out with another girl.' Give me a break."

"Whatever. Let's go to bed."

"I'm sleeping on the couch. You can take the floor."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Oh, I can? Gee, thanks."

Paige tugged her shoes off and flopped onto the couch while Ashley spread her sleeping bag on the floor and lay down. She heard Paige flipping over and slapping the cushions over and over. "What wrong?"

"Just trying to get comfortable." Paige looked down at Ashley. "Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Ellie's going to be okay?"

Ashley sighed. "I really don't know."

"Me either. She just- she seemed so sad. But she wasn't talking."

"You're really worried, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Don't look so surprised. I've got a heart, you know."

"Really? 'Cause sometimes I wonder about that."

"You're so amusing. But seriously-"

"I told you, I'm not sure. It's hard to tell with Ellie. She doesn't talk when she's upset. She just pushes it inside, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Paige whispered.

---------------------

Ellie sucked in her breath, trying to control the tears. The last things she need was for Ashley or Paige to hear her and come and try to comfort her. There was nothing they could do. Her life was a total and complete mess.

"You're so stupid, Ellie," she whispered to herself. She had known that Sean was gone, that he probably was coming back. It shouldn't hurt this much. He hadn't called her; it wasn't surprising that he was with someone else. She should have expected it. But she hadn't. And now, she was all alone. She had no one.

---------------------

Paige woke up a few hours later, totally disoriented. Where the hell was she? She glanced down at a snoring Ashley and suddenly the night's earlier events came back to her. Poor Ellie. Even if she was ready to let Sean go, seeing him kiss someone else had to hurt. Paige stood up, stretched, and plodded her way to the bathroom, thinking about Ellie. After she was finished, she started to walk back to the living room. She stopped when she heard a sound near Ellie's room, and went to investigate it. She tapped lightly on the doors, so that she didn't wake Ellie up if she was sleeping. Hearing the sound again, she slowly opened the door and peeked inside. Her heart dropped when she saw Ellie curled up in a ball, crying her eyes out. "Ellie?"

Ellie sat up, wiping at her eyes. "Get out."

Paige took a couple of steps inside the room. "I want to help."

"I want you to go away. I don't need to have some big long talk about this. Drop it, okay?"

Paige sat down on the edge of Ellie's bed. "I'm not going away. You gotta talk about this."

"No, I don't. I just want to be left alone," Ellie said, choking back a sob.

"I don't really care. I know we aren't exactly best friends, but I care about you. I want to help you. I don't want you to-"

"I'm not gonna cut, if that's what you're worried about." Ellie snapped at the rubber bands on her wrists almost absentmindedly. "I no longer use physical pain to take the place of emotional pain."

Paige moved closer to Ellie, touching her arm. "Really? Those rubber bands seem to say otherwise."

"I won't do it, okay? I'm not completely stupid. I know if I start, I won't want to stop. So, you can go."

"Ellie, it's gotta suck, being so tough all the time. I'm right here. You've just got to say you want my help and you've got it."

"I don't. I want to be alone. I don't need anyone."

"That's not true. You wouldn't be so upset if it was. You think you need Sean."

"I do! I do need him!" Ellie let all of her emotions out without bothering to stop them. "Even though he never called, I was sure he'd come back. I thought he needed me. I thought he loved me. Damn it!" She burst into tears and Paige wrapped her arms around her.

"That's it. You have to cry. And, after you let everything out, you can hate him. You can let all the anger out. But first you gotta let the sadness out."

"When did you become such break up expert?" Ellie asked, with a surprise smile in her voice.

"Please, hon. I'm friends with Ashley and I've just had the end of my own relationship. I know about break ups."

Ellie laughed and pushed her away. "I'm okay. Really."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm not going to turn into Ashley."

Paige laughed. "Thank God. I couldn't take that again. It was bad enough the first time."

"I think I can sleep now."

"Okay." Paige stood up and walked to the door. "Me and Ashley are both out there if you need us."

"I know. Good night."

"Night, Ellie."

------------------------


	6. Six

Author's note: This is a transition chapter. I'm not sure that I like it, but I hope you do.

----------------------------

The next morning, Ellie tip-toed into the living room. She laughed as she looked at her two friends. Ashley was sprawled out on the floor, her hair sticking up every which way. Paige was sleeping on the couch, her mouth wide open, snoring up a storm. This was really too amusing. The most popular girl in school was snoring in her living room. If someone had told her that that would happen, she'd have laughed in their face. And if someone told her that the same popular girl had hugged her while she cried her eyes out over her boyfriend, she'd have probably smacked them. But, shockingly enough, Paige had actually managed to help her. Without being insanely annoying or overly sympathetic. It was the oddest feeling, but Paige was possibly, maybe becoming her friend.

Ellie shook her head to clear the thoughts away. It was way too early to be thinking about stuff like that. She walked over to the girls and said, "Hey, it's time to get up." There was no response from either of them. She nudged Ashley's shoulder with her toe. "Wake up."

Still nothing. She leaned down and whispered into Paige's ear. "Oh, look, there's Justin Timberlake." Ellie giggled as Paige sat straight up. "You're too predictable."

Paige glanced up at Ellie and rolled her eyes. "Not funny."

"It got you up, didn't it?"

"Shut up."

"Do you two have to argue first thing in the morning?" Ashley asked as she slowly sat up.

"Yeah, we do," Paige sneered in Ashley's direction.

"You know-"

"No time for this. I've got to be at work in an hour." Ellie paused, waiting for her friends to respond. When she saw that they both were looking at her with concern, she rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. Really, I am."

Ashley stood up and wrapped an arm around her. "We're just worried about you."

"I know. But it's okay. I'm not the first girl that this happened to and I won't be the last."

"That's very smart, Ellie. Too bad everyone who's been cheated on couldn't react like that."

"Paige, I know who you're talking about."

"Well, I was being obvious about it."

Ellie rolled her eyes again. "Look, let's find something to eat and then I'm going to get into the shower. You two try not to kill each other, okay?"

"Okay." Ashley and Paige answered in unison.

----------------------------

Paige and Ashley were watching TV while Ellie got dressed for work when the phone rang. "I'll get it, Ellie," Paige called out.

"Hello?" Paige sighed impatiently. "Is there anyone there?"

"No one saying anything?" Ashley asked.

Paige shook her head. "Nope." She spoke into the receiver. "Look, I don't know who the hell this is, but these phone calls are ridiculous. You're probably some loser who can't get a date. This had better be the last phone call, or there's going to be hell to pay." She grinned when she heard the dial tone and hung up the phone. "That should take care of that."

"Paige!" Ashley said, with wide eyes.

"What'd she do this time?" Ellie asked, walking back into the room.

"You got one of those weird phone calls where the person doesn't say anything and I took care of it. No big deal," Paige said.

"She was totally obnoxious. Whoever it was could get pissed and-"

"Calm down, Ash. I'm not worried about it. I've got more important things to think about than some freak who calls and doesn't say anything. Now let's get going. I don't want to be late for work."

-------------------------

Alex and Ellie both sighed deeply after the large rush of customers finally subsided. "Jeez, I never knew that Bloodsucker 3 would be such a popular movie," Alex said with a half smile.

Ellie smiled back. "No kidding. I can't believe it."

"Jay would love this movie. Guess that's one good thing to us breaking up. I don't have to watch it."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"I bet you do. So, uh, have you talked to Sean lately?" Alex asked.

"What's it to you?" Ellie snapped.

"I'm sorry! God! I didn't know that was such a big deal. I was just asking a question." Alex turned away and started scrubbing the counter.

Ellie sighed. "It's my fault. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. Sean's just a touchy subject."

Alex looked back at her. "I know how it is. Guys suck."

"Yeah. Sean's seeing someone else."

"Oh. I guess that's why you're such uptight about it."

"Uh-huh. But you didn't deserve me bitching at you."

"It's fine. I've bitched at my fair share of people."

"You? Really?"

"Shut up, Ellie."

----------------------------

Monday afternoon, Ellie reclined on her couch, enjoying her freedom. She had absolutely nothing to do. No work. No homework. Nothing. Just a peaceful, silent day. She could do anything she wanted. All she wanted was to hang out by herself in her quiet home. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Damn it." She got off the couch and opened the door. "Paige? What are you doing here?"

"Nice greeting, hon," Paige said as she pushed her way past Ellie into the house. "I'm here to hang out with you."

"Excuse me? You're supposed to ask before you come over to someone's house," Ellie said as she shut the door and followed Paige into the house.

"Yeah, well. You'd have said no if I'd asked."

"Doesn't that tell you something?"

"Shut up. Listen, I'm you're friend, okay? And I left you alone the past few days, but that's done. You've had time to wallow over Sean. It's time to hang out with your friends now."

Ellie sighed. "I'm not getting you out of here, am I?"

"Nope."

"Okay, fine. You can stay."

"Great." Paige grinned and collapsed on the couch. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I ordered a pizza. It should be here soon. I'll go see if there's anything to drink in the fridge." Ellie walked way and looked inside the fridge. When there was a knock at the door, she called out to Paige. "Hey, pizza's here. The money's on the table. Can you get it?"

"Yeah, sure." Paige grabbed the money and opened the door. When she saw who it was, her mouth dropped open. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Paige? You're standing in front of that door for a long time. Get the pizza and get in here." Ellie walked over to Paige and looked out the door. "Oh, my God." Ellie's heart dropped to her stomach as she stared at the handsome boy in front of her. "Sean?"

--------------------------------


	7. Seven

Sean shuffled nervously. "Hi, Ellie."

Ellie stood silently, having no idea what she should say. Luckily, Paige had recovered from her surprise and decided to let loose. "What the hell are you doing here? You think you can just drop in whenever you want after what you did to Ellie?"

Sean lost his nervous posture and stood up straight. "Excuse me? This is none of your business. Why don't you get lost?"

"None of my business? Ellie's my friend. Which is more than you can say. Where have you been these last few months, huh? You sure weren't around here." Paige got right in his face.

"Back off, Princess. You don't know anything about this."

"I know more than you think, you immature punk. I've been here."

"You need to get out of here. I wouldn't want to have to pop you one."

Paige sneered. "I'd like to see you try."

Ellie regained her composure and stepped between the two of them. "You both need to shut up." Paige and Sean moved away, both glaring at one another. Ellie sighed in relief. "Okay, you're both calm now."

Sean nodded in Paige's direction. "What is she doing here?"

Paige rolled her eyes. "You know what? I don't need-"

"That's enough!" Ellie interrupted them again and waited until they were silent. "Thank you. Paige, I think you'd better go. I need to talk to Sean alone."

Paige looked at her with concern. "Are you sure, hon?"

Ellie nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Okay. Call me if you need anything." Paige glared at Sean one last time before leaving. Sean slammed the door after her.

"Good. She's gone. Now, we can talk. Why is she even here to begin with?"

"That's none of your concern. You don't live here anymore, I do. And I'm allowed to have friends over."

Sean snorted. "Paige isn't a friend to anyone. Not unless she can get something out of it."

"Paige isn't important," Ellie said, shaking her head. "Why are you here? You haven't called in months and now you show up? Why?"

"I'm back, Ellie. I'm coming back. Living with my parents isn't working anymore."

"What? Are they drinking again? Or, did your girlfriend dump you and you decided to come back to poor, pathetic, waiting for you Ellie?"

Sean stopped short. "What girlfriend?"

"Don't play stupid with me. I went to Wasaga to see you and I saw you kissing some girl with brown hair."

"Kelsey? That- She's not my girlfriend."

"Whatever. It doesn't matter. You know why? Because it's been months since I've seen you. Hell, it's been months since I've gotten a letter or a phone call."

"I called!" Sean interjected. "Or, at least, I tried to. But I couldn't say anything."

"What? You called, but didn't say anything? During the last couple weeks?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"Oh, my god. You're so stupid!

"What?"

"Those stupid calls freaked me out. Hell, Ashley was convinced I was being stalked."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what to say."

"It doesn't matter. It's too little, too late. I don't care. You could've called long ago. But you didn't. And, I'm done. It's over. I've got too much stuff to deal with in my life. I don't need you jerking me around."

"Ellie-"

"No. It's over. I want you to leave."

Sean shook his head. "No."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not leaving. This is my house. My brother's name is on the lease. You can't make me leave."

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."

"No, I'm not."

"You don't seriously think-"

"What I think is that my brother signed the lease. I have the right to be here. And I'll talk to the landlord if I have to."

Ellie laughed. "You do that. He's been getting the checks from me for the past few months. I guarantee the lease doesn't mean anything to him."

Sean sighed in frustration. "What the hell am I supposed to do? I've got to live some place."

"Why don't you go ask Jay for a place to live? Aren't you guys best buddies?"

"I know all about Jay so shut up."

"Oh, did I touch a sore spot?"

"What is with you? Why do you have such an attitude? Is Paige rubbing off on you?"

"This has nothing to do with Paige. I'm just not going to let anyone mess with me anymore."

"Damn it, Ellie. You have to give me a break. What am I going to do? I'll be back at Degrassi tomorrow. I don't have time to look for a new place."

Ellie sighed. "I'm too nice."

"You're gonna let me stay?" Sean asked hopefully.

"This is not a permanent situation. Only for a little while."

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

"And you sleep on the couch."

"Of course."

Ellie groaned and walked out of the room, leaning against a wall. "What the hell are you doing, Ellie?"

-------------------------

The next morning at school, Ellie stood at her locker, shoving books in. "You seem happy. Anything exciting happen?" Marco stood next to her, grinning.

"Paige has a big mouth."

"Yeah, she does. So, Sean's back."

Ellie slammed her locker shut. "Yeah. And I'm the idiot who's letting him stay with me."

"What? Why?" Marco asked.

"Because he doesn't have anywhere else to go. I don't want him sleeping on the streets."

"Aw, you still love him," Marco teased.

Ellie slapped him on the head. "Yeah, you're funny. Go to class."

"See you, Ellie."

"Bye, Marco." Just as Marco walked away from her, Paige and Ashley came up on either side of her.

"Hi, guys."

"So, Ellie. What happened yesterday?" Paige asked.

Ashley rolled her eyes. "You don't have to tell us."

"Don't listen to her. You absolutely have to tell us."

"Paige! You totally don't. Not if you don't want to."

"It's fine, Ash. I know she's not going to drop it until I tell you anyway."

"Excellent. So, start spilling."

Ellie sighed dramatically as the three girls start walking to class. "Nothing really. He just- he said he's come back to stay."

"What?! He splits and hooks up with another girl, then thinks he can come back and everything will be the same? What an idiot."

"Yeah, no kidding. But I'm the one who told him he could stay for a while."

Both Paige and Ashley stared at her in surprise. "I know, it's stupid. But he just got back and doesn't have anywhere else to go."

"Let him sleep on the streets."

"Paige!"

"I should have. But anyway, I don't want to talk about it right now. School's the one place I can avoid him since we're in different grades. So, let's drop it, okay?"

"Okay." Ashley said, but Paige was silent.

"Paige?"

"Fine, fine. I'll drop it, too."

----------------------------------


	8. Eight

Author's note: Sorry this update took so long. It's been a busy week. Hope you like it.

-

Paige and Ellie stood outside Ellie's house that evening. Before walking inside, Ellie turned to Paige. "Listen, I want to talk to you for a minute."

"Okay."

"You can't pick a fight with Sean."

Paige rolled her eyes. "Come on."

"I mean it, Paige. I know you don't like him-"

"For good reason!"

"I know, I know. But still. If we're going to get any studying done, you need to stay calm and just ignore him, okay?"

"All right, all right. I'll be good. I promise."

"I don't believe you, but I'm not going to stay out here arguing with you." The two of them walked inside and dumped their books on the coffee table.

Paige plopped down, leaning her head back and sighing. "God. I can't believe we're having a quiz. It seems like we just had a test."

Ellie sat down next to her. "It could be worse. At least he told as about it. We could've had a pop quiz."

"Yeah, well. I guess so. But I totally don't feel like studying."

"When do you ever feel like studying?"

"Ha ha. I-" Paige stopped when Sean came into the room. When he saw Paige, he rolled his eyes and looked at Ellie.

"Ellie, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sean, we're trying to study here," Paige said in her sweetest voice.

"I'm sure," he scoffed. "Ellie, please?"

"Fine. I'll be right back, Paige." She followed Sean out of the room. "So, what do you want?"

"Why is she here again?" Sean asked angrily.

"Uh, we're studying."

"I don't want her here. I don't like her. Study somewhere else."

Ellie laughed. "This is my house. I'm not leaving. Paige is my friend and lab partner. We're going to study. If you don't like it, you can leave. But you're not going to hassle her. I've had a hellish day at work. You need to drop this now."

"Ellie!"

"Sean!"

Sean glowered at her and stomped away. Ellie heard the door slam a few seconds later and walked into the living room. "That went well."

"What's his problem?"

"He doesn't like you being here."

"Oh, poor baby." Paige rolled her eyes. "This is your place. Just tell him to deal."

"I did. He didn't take it well."

"Oh, well."

"That's what I said."

"Good. Now, don't back down. He needs to realize this is your place and he can't push you around."

"Okay, okay. I get it. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Fine, let's get to studying then."

-

An hour later, Paige had left and Ellie was lying on the couch, enjoying her first moment of peace all day. It was constantly stressful. Sean living here, Marco grilling her, Paige wanting her to push Sean away, work. It was almost too much. Everything was so complicated. When she heard the door knob jingle, she groaned. Her quiet time was over.

"Is something wrong?" Ellie glanced up to see Sean standing next to her with a worried look on his face.

"No, I'm okay," Ellie said, shaking her head. "I've had kind of a stressful day, you know?"

Sean sat down next to her. "Yeah. So, did you and Paige get your studying done?"

Ellie looked at him suspiciously. "Do you really want to know, or are you being sarcastic?"

"I really want to know. I'm sorry about before. I, uh, I shouldn't have jumped on you like I did," Sean said, looking at his feet. "I left. You're letting me stay here and I'm being a jerk to your friends. That's not right. Even if your friend is Paige."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "You couldn't just be nice and apologize, could you? You had to throw in an insult."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. So, hard day, huh?"

"Uh-huh. Work's a total bitch. It feels like thousands of people are wanting me to do whatever their heart desires. 'Gimme a soda, gimme popcorn, not so much butter.' God! Sometimes I just want to quit."

Sean laughed. "Where the hell do you work?"

"At the movies. Most of the time it's not too bad, but today sucked."

"Well, I've got some good news for you."

"What is it?"

"I found a job. Working for a mechanic. The money's not great, but I should be able to save some. I'll get out of your hair in no time."

"Good. Because you know, I don't need you in my face all the time. I've got stuff to do," Ellie teased.

"Yeah, what kind of stuff?" Sean asked.

"Private stuff. Girl stuff."

"Like what? Do you and Princess Paige take turns giving each other facials and braiding each other's hair?"

"Yes, that's exactly what we do."

Sean laughed. "I'm sure."

Ellie laughed, too. "Since we're being so nice to each other, I want you to do me a favor."

"Sure. What is it?"

"The next time Paige comes over, I want you to be nice to her."

Sean groaned. "You've got to be kidding."

"No, I'm not. You don't have to like her, but you could at least be civil."

"She's just so-"

"Sean, please. I'm asking you nicely to just be polite. You don't have to be best buddies."

"Okay, fine. I'll be nice. But if she says anything-"

"She won't." Ellie stood up and Sean did the same. "But thanks. It'll make things more pleasant if you two can tolerate each other. At least for a little while."

Sean nodded. "I guess so."

"Uh, well. I better get to bed. I don't want to be wiped out tomorrow."

"See you in the morning."

"See you."

-


	9. Nine

Sean woke up the next morning to the sounds of Ellie getting ready for school. He smiled, happy to just be near her. He knew he was lucky. Really lucky. He didn't deserve Ellie letting him stay here. He totally screwed up. Leaving, not calling, fooling around with Kelsey. All of it was stupid and he'd known it while he did it. That's why he came back. To make things right. He knew Ellie was what he wanted. But he had never thought that she'd move on. He felt bad for coming back and messing with her life, but he couldn't leave. Wasaga wasn't home. He had wondered if Ellie was someone completely different when he first came back. A new job, friends with Paige, but she was still the same Ellie at heart. And he had a little hope that she'd let him stay for good.

Sean stretched and stumbled to the refrigerator, looking for something to eat. He felt a slap on the back and spun around. He found Ellie standing in front of him, grinning.

"Nice outfit, Cameron," she said, gesturing to his shorts and t-shirt. "You're not going to school like that, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"You'd better hurry up. You don't want to be late. "

"Don't you worry about me, Nash. I'll be there." He grinned back at her.

"I won't worry. If you flunk out, it's your own fault," she said, punching him on the shoulder. She giggled and backed away from him.

"Oh, that's cute. You shouldn't hit if you don't want to deal with the consequences, Ellie." He laughed and walked toward her. She backed further away and he chased after her. They ran all through the house, both laughing the whole time. Finally, Sean grabbed her and pinned her against the wall. "You're in trouble now."

"I know," Ellie whispered. The two of them had stopped laughing. They stared at each, both breathing heavily. Sean pressed his forehead against Ellie's, giving her a chance to push him away, but she never did. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and leaned in closer. Their lips were about to meet when a car horn blasted outside. They jumped apart quickly.

"That's Marco. He's picking me up today." Ellie looked at Sean, waiting for him to speak, but he stayed quiet. "Do- Do you need a ride?"

"No. I'm good. Besides, I'm not even dressed yet."

Ellie nodded and picked up her school books. "Okay. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, later." Sean watched as Ellie left. A small smile spread across his face. Maybe there was hope.

-

Ellie walked quickly into school, thankful that Marco had school president things on his mind. She really didn't want to talk about the weird thing that had happened between her and Sean. God, this was bad. She did not need to be thinking of Sean like that. Getting close to him and almost kissing him … It was an invitation to disaster. She'd end up getting hurt. Badly. She didn't think she could survive it if Sean hurt her again. She needed to push him away. She spotted Paige standing at her locker and ran over to her. "You have to help me."

"God, Ellie. Nice greeting. What's wrong?" Paige asked.

"It's Sean. He-"

"Sean? What the hell did he do to you? He's got some nerve-"

"Calm down, calm down. He didn't do anything. Well, he sort of did, but it wasn't his fault."

"You're making a lot of sense."

"This morning, he- we- we almost kissed."

Paige looked at her in shock. "What! Are you kidding me? He kissed you! Who does he think he is?"

"No, he didn't kiss me. It wasn't like that. We were teasing each other and it just sort of happened. Almost. Marco honked his horn and we back away. But we were so close."

"Okay, well, did you want it to happen?"

"I don't know."

Paige rolled her eyes. "Hon, please."

Ellie sighed in frustration. "Yeah, I guess I did. But it can't happen. He hurt me before. I can't let him have a chance to do it again."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Come over this afternoon."

"Why?"

"Sean doesn't like you. If he sees you around, it'll be like a barrier. It'll push him away."

"Gee thanks a lot."

"I didn't mean it in a bad way."

"I know, I know. So, what? You want me to come over and totally annoy Sean?"

"No. Not exactly. I want you to come over and just hang out. That'll put an obstacle between us."

Paige sighed. "Are you sure that's what you want, Ellie?"

"What? Yeah, of course. I don't want to get close to him again."

"Ellie, come on."

"Look, just tell me if you can come, okay? Otherwise, I'll ask Ashley. Although, she's not nearly as annoying as you are."

"Thanks for the confidence. It's no problem. I'll come over."

"Thank you. "

"It's cool. You can help me figure out what to do with that project that Kwan just assigned."

"First, I do your chemistry homework, now you want me to do your English homework."

"Hey, I'm doing you a favor. Don't insult me."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry."

"Whatever, let's go to class."

-

After school, Ellie and Paige went to Ellie's house. They both sprawled out on the couch. "God, this seems familiar. Doesn't it seem like we just did this?"

"Shut up, Paige."

"Real nice, El. See if I ever do you a favor again."

"Like I really hurt your feelings."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I don't really need …" Paige trailed off as she heard a car door slam. "I think lover boy's home."

"This is not funny, Paige. I'll be right back, okay? I want to get something out of my room."

"You're a big sissy!" Paige called at Ellie's back as she hurried out of the room. When the front door opened, she looked at the sullen teenage boy in front of her. "Hi, Sean."

"Hey, Paige." Sean said with a clenched jaw.

Paige couldn't help but grin at the obvious difficulty that Sean had being nice to her. "Ellie had to get something out of her room. She didn't leave me alone."

"I didn't figure she would." He walked over and got a glass of water.

"So, how is it being back at Degrassi?" Paige asked, trying to see if he'd engage in a conversation with her.

Sean rolled his eyes. "Why are you asking me that? You don't want to know. You don't like me."

"You're right. I don't like you. You messed with Ellie and now you're trying to screw with her again. I don't like what you did."

Sean snorted. "Right. You've got be kidding me."

"Hey. I'll be nice because Ellie wants you around, but you need to understand. If you hurt her again, you'll be sorry."

"This guard dog act is retarded. Ellie wants nothing to do with me."

Paige rolled her eyes. "You're not that stupid, Sean. Ellie wouldn't let you stay here if she didn't care about you."

Sean leaned against the counter and stared at Paige. "That's not- that couldn't happen."

"Whatever. Believe what you want. But you'd better not hurt her again."

"I won't."

"Okay."

Ellie walked back into the room and looked back and forth between the two of them. "What's going on, guys?"

Paige smiled brightly. "Nothing. Sean and I were just talking. We're best friends now, right?"

"Sure."

"Well, anyway. I'm sorry, Ellie, but I gotta go."

"Wait a second. We were supposed to study."

"Can't. I just remembered my mom wanted me home. I'll see you tomorrow." Paige waved to both Ellie and Sean and walked out the door.

Ellie looked at Sean apprehensively. "Hey."

"Hey. She's weird, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Ellie took a deep breath, knowing that being alone with Sean could change everything drastically.

-


	10. Ten

This is the last chapter. Thanks to everyone who's read this story. I hope you like the ending.

-

Sean and Ellie stared at each other nervously. Sean spoke first. "So, she left pretty quickly."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I can't believe she took off like that."

"I can't believe what she said to me."

Ellie looked at him curiously. "Yeah? What'd she say?"

Sean smiled briefly. "Nothing much. She's really a guard dog, though."

"What?"

"You know, she's real protective of you."

"What did she say to you?"

"She just told me I better not hurt you again."

Ellie groaned. "Oh, god. That's so embarrassing."

"No, it's cool. I mean, it was kind of weird, but I guess she's just trying to be a friend. Make sure you don't get hurt again."

"Still. It's not like I'm a little kid or something."

"It's not a big deal." Sean sat down on the couch and gestured for Ellie to do the same. When she was sitting next to him, he smiled at her. "Are you worried about school?"

Ellie looked at him strangely. "No. Why would I be worried about school?"

"Well, Paige was coming over to study. I figured you probably had a test or something."

"No, it was nothing like that. I just wanted to stay ahead."

"Oh, right. Genius Nash."

"That's funny, Sean." Sean grinned at her and Ellie felt her stomach turn over. She scooted away from him.

"Are you okay? You seem kind of nervous."

"No, I'm fine. I just- it's strange being here with you alone, you know? It's been a long time."

Sean nodded. "I know. God, I'm sorry this. I shouldn't have come back."

"What?"

"You had your life going good and I come back and mess things up."

"But you didn't. I'm glad you're back."

Sean stared at her in surprise. "Really?"

"Uh-huh. I want us to be friends."

"Just friends?"

Ellie looked at him oddly. "Well, yeah, friends. It's been a long time. We didn't talk. You found a new girlfriend."

"Kelsey wasn't-"

"You don't have to say anything. I saw you with her."

"I don't know what you saw, but she's not my girlfriend. She never was. She was just there. And easy."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me?"

"I didn't mean it like that. I meant, she was uncomplicated. I didn't have to think when I was with her. And I needed that. But it was all a mistake."

"You can't mean that."

"I do. I never should have left you."

"Sean, you can't- Don't say that."

"It's true, Ellie. I should've stayed here. I never wanted to hurt you."

"Stop it."

Sean moved closer to her, touching her arm. "I'm so sorry." He leaned into her, brushing her lips lightly with his own. When she didn't push him away, he deepened the kiss. He pulled her close, loving the feel of her against him. "I love you, Ellie," he whispered into her ear.

Ellie pulled back and jumped off the couch. "I can't do this."

Sean jumped up, too, looking scared. "Ellie, please."

She shook her head. "You don't- You don't mean that. I've gotta get out of here." She rushed out the door, ignoring Sean calling after her.

-

Ellie stood in front of the nice house, hoping she wasn't going to regret this. But she didn't have anywhere else to go. Neither Marco or Ashley was home. She knocked quickly and waited.

Paige pulled the door open and smiled. "Didn't I just leave you with Sean?"

"Yeah. And everything's all screwed up and Sean- and I didn't have anywhere else to go so I hope you don't mind that I'm here, but I really need to talk to someone and-"

"Hon, calm down. Come in. Ashley's here. We'll figure it out." Ellie followed Paige into the house.

-

After spilling out her story to Ashley and Paige, Ellie looked back and forth between her two friends. "So, what do you think?"

"I think you're still in love with the creep even though he screwed you over."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "You're not helping, Paige."

"I'm just saying what I think."

"Well, it's not-"

"Okay, you two need to stop fighting and focus on helping me."

"Ellie, I'm not sure how to help you."

"I don't- He really hurt me. Why do I want him so much?" Ellie asked, tears filling her eyes.

Paige put an arm around her. "Ridiculous as it sounds, you can't help who you love. It's something that just is."

"That's very profound," Ellie sneered.

"Ellie, she's right. I mean, I never thought I could forgive Craig, but I did. 'Cause I love him. It's not something that makes sense, but that's the way it is."

"I don't know. It's all so confusing."

"Do you think you can forgive him?" Paige asked.

Ellie groaned. "I don't know. I want- I want everything back how it used to be."

"Well, that's a mature attitude," Paige said.

"Not helpful at all, Paige."

"No, but she's kind of right. Things can't be the same, but do you still want to be with him?" Ashley asked.

Ellie sat deep in thought for a long time. She was thinking for so long that Paige and Ashley glanced at each other in confusion. After a while, she looked up and smiled. "Yeah. I do."

-

Ellie walked into her house to find Sean gathering up the few belongings he brought with him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving."

"What?"

"I'll find somewhere else to stay. I don't want to cause you anymore trouble. I've already done enough of that."

"I don't want you to go, Sean."

"Ellie, it's okay. I'll figure something out. I-"

Ellie shook her head and walked closer to him. "No, I don't want you to. I want you to stay here. With me."

Sean stared at her. "What?"

"You really hurt me. I'm not going to lie. But I want to get past it. I want you to be with you."

"You really think we can go back to how it used to be?"

"No, I don't. But I think we could have something better. Stronger. I want to be with you, Sean."

"I don't believe it," Sean said, a smiling spreading across his face. "You want to be with me."

"Yeah. I love you, Sean."

Sean sighed in relief. "I was hoping you did."

Ellie laughed and pulled him onto the couch, kissing his lips. "You're not going to leave me again, are you?" She asked, in between kisses.

"Nope, never again."

-


End file.
